


When the Evening Pulls the Sun Down

by stephen_is_strange



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Mostly from Yamaguchi, Stargazing, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 23:45:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20497352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stephen_is_strange/pseuds/stephen_is_strange
Summary: "The final bell for school rang and Kei gathered his things, trying to keep his movements as relaxed as they normally were. Composure was one of his strong suits, and he willed his body to slow despite his desire to hurry and go home.He finished packing at roughly the same time that Yamaguchi approached his desk, which told him that he had done a great job of reigning in his excitement.“Ready to go, Tsukki?” Yamaguchi asked, and Kei nodded, slinging his backpack over his shoulder as he stood. He led Yamaguchi out of the classroom and the pair fell into step as they walked home."A sweet fic about first kisses and snarky confessions. Set around their third year in junior high.





	When the Evening Pulls the Sun Down

**Author's Note:**

> Turns out rewatching haikyuu and catching up to the manga makes me feel a whole lot of things about tsukkiyama. Enjoy this incredibly self-indulgent fluff fic.

The final bell for school rang, and Kei gathered his things, trying to keep his movements as relaxed as they normally were. Composure was one of his strong suits, and he willed his body to slow despite his desire to hurry and go home.

He finished packing at roughly the same time that Yamaguchi approached his desk, which told him that he had done a great job of reigning in his excitement.

“Ready to go, Tsukki?” he asked, and Kei nodded, slinging his backpack over his shoulder as he stood. He led him out of the classroom and the pair fell into step as they walked home.

As they passed by the spot they normally said goodbye, Kei smiled to himself. He wouldn’t have to say goodbye to Yamaguchi until Sunday. They had the whole weekend to hang out, to talk without any stupid classmates or club members interrupting them. And maybe that made Kei a little selfish but he hadn’t ever said he was particularly selfless either.

They arrived at Kei’s front door in record time after that. If Kei had been pushing their pace, Yamaguchi didn’t mention it, only followed behind him, filling the silence with his voice. Kei didn’t even remember he’d told Yamaguchi they’d listen to music on the way to his house, much too absorbed in Yamaguchi’s story about the show he was watching.

Kei’s mom greeted them and Yamaguchi smiled warmly as he exchanged pleasantries with her. Kei rolled his eyes, gathering up everything they needed while Yamaguchi charmed his mother as he tended to. Kei tried to ignore them when his mom started talking about how he had drooled in his sleep. As soon as he finished pouring the popcorn into a bowl, he hurriedly started ushering Yamaguchi to his room.

“Alright mom, I’m taking my friend back now,” he said, not missing the way her smile turned soft. Stupid family and their stupid happiness over his stupid happiness. Couldn’t she tell he was trying to be cool?

“Sorry, Kei can be a little rude. Talk later?” Yamaguchi said, sniggering into his hand when Kei grumbled about how everyone around him was a traitor. He didn’t think about how nice his name sounded when Yamaguchi said it.

They huddled on Kei’s bed, popcorn between them, though Yamaguchi was decidedly more interested in it than Kei was. Kei, like normal, was too busy spouting off facts about Jurassic Park, how awesome the dinosaurs were and how great the production of the movie was and how much better it was than the newer ones. So Yamaguchi mostly ate popcorn and Kei mostly talked and they both didn’t pay much attention to the movie.

When the credits rolled around the sun was just barely above the horizon, the faintest edge of orange peaking into the vast navy blue of the sky. Kei began cleaning up, taking the empty popcorn bowl downstairs and preparing them both a bowl of strawberry ice cream.

When Kei came to his room, Yamaguchi had already gathered a pile of blankets and pillows on the floor in front of Kei’s telescope. He smiled to himself, settling down next to Yamaguchi in the nest. The final bit of sunlight had disappeared from the sky, the shadows in his room all-consuming save for the faint green glow of stars stuck to his ceiling. Yamaguchi began peeking through the telescope, Kei content to eat his ice cream and wait until Yamaguchi called him over.

Kei found it was much more interesting to watch Yamaguchi than look at the stars anyway. He was meticulous in his search of the cosmos, subtle and all too present at once. His back curved slightly to adjust to the telescope, his kneeling form still too great for the telescope on its tallest setting. Kei had tried to buy a new one, but Yamaguchi had insisted that the one he had now was fine, cheeks bright pink like he’d said something embarrassing. Kei shrugged it off as Yamaguchi being weird and didn’t bring up a new telescope after that.

The nape of Yamaguchi’s neck was dusted with freckles, dark on his tan skin. His hands were wide, fingers gently curved, pinky tapping against the plastic. He was a lot more filled out than Kei and when Yamaguchi rolled his shoulders, his shirt pulled taut. Yamaguchi was handsome, Kei thought, and then, Yamaguchi was only handsome in a way that Kei was not, and definitely not in a way that Kei found personally attractive.

“Tsukki, look, Libra!” Yamaguchi said, yanking Kei from his train of thought. He hastily dropped his spoon into his bowl as Yamaguchi tugged him over. He crouched as low as he could, peaking through the telescope, careful not to move it.

And sure enough, Libra was there. “Your star sign,” Yamaguchi supplied, far more happy about it than Kei even though it was, in fact, his star sign.

“Thank you,” he said, quiet, and Yamaguchi pinched his arm.

“So grouchy! I’m letting you eat my ice cream, and this is how you treat me?” Kei choked on his spit, turning quickly around to defend himself. His own empty ice cream bowl judged him from its spot on the floor, Yamaguchi’s half-empty despite him having never even looked at.

“I— I didn’t eat anything!” His voice pitched up, a dead giveaway, as if Yamaguchi needed such an obvious tell to know it was a lie.

“Yeah, and you don’t drool at the mention of sweets,” Yamaguchi said, sticking his tongue out at him.

“Shut up, Yamaguchi,” he mumbled, face burning. Yamaguchi laughed, bright and loud, and Kei was about to retort, say something about how Yamaguchi should be more grateful towards his host or that he has definitely never drooled before, but then Yamaguchi snorted. He couldn’t hold back his own laughter after that, just a slight chuckle at first, before devolving into near-silent gasps as they clutched at their aching sides.

Yamaguchi was the first to recover, wiping the corners of his eyes as he gathered his breath. “Tsukki, it's fine if you eat my ice cream,” he said, sticking his tongue out again with a wink. “Just don’t lie about something so silly.”

“Then don’t tease me,” Kei huffed, attempting indignation and ending up somewhere in the realm of petulant.

“Oh, but Tsukki, you’re so cute!” Yamaguchi cheered, throwing his arms around Kei in a hug that felt too much like a tackle, pushing him off the edge of the blanket nest and onto the hard floor. His back hit the ground and he struggled to get a hold of Yamaguchi to slow their momentum or, at the very least, avoid being crushed into the floor even more.

He was just about to open his mouth, scold him for being so reckless, for acting so childishly, but he snapped his mouth closed. He bit his tongue in his haste, but that couldn’t even begin to distract him from the sight above him.

Yamaguchi’s bangs hung down, framing his face as he leaned over Kei. His face was split with a grin and a blush sat high on his cheeks. His hands had landed on either side of his head, and he couldn’t for the life of him figure out if it was terrifying or comforting.

“Yamaguchi,” he said, and it was far too breathless for the biting remark he intended it to be. Stupid Yamaguchi was scrambling his thoughts, reminding him of ripe strawberries with his pink, freckled cheeks, which, in turn, made him wonder if Yamaguchi might taste sweet, like strawberry ice cream.

And Yamaguchi was just staring, something unreadable passing over his face for a split second.

“Tsukki,” he whispered, blinking slowly, and Kei could hardly remember to breathe so he had no idea how Yamaguchi could think to blink.

“Hey, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi said again. He exhaled softly, breath fanning across Kei’s face, and he smelled like buttery popcorn but that didn’t stop him from wanting to kiss Yamaguchi. He hoped none of it showed in his expression because Yamaguchi was still staring, concentrating like Kei was a puzzle he couldn’t figure out. Not that he knew what Yamaguchi’s concentrated face looked like, as he never stared at Yamaguchi when he should be focusing elsewhere. He especially never looked at Yamaguchi when they huddled over his desk, struggling to assemble the endlessly green foliage surrounding a brontosaurus or the vast blue and white-speckled night sky.

A little belatedly, Kei realized he’d grabbed Yamaguchi around the waist, because when he experimentally wiggled his fingers, Yamaguchi gasped above him. The half-laugh wrapping more of the savory scent around Kei’s nose. making him seriously regret his ridiculous sweet tooth for getting him into this situation in the first place.

And even though Kei was agonizing over his next move, his body started moving on its own, much to his horror. He began tickling Yamaguchi in earnest, fingers digging into his sides.

“Hey, hey! Tsukki, wait! Tsukki, please!” Kei ignored him because honestly, he felt better like this, Yamaguchi wriggling and laughing above him. It was far less stifling than Yamaguchi just staring as he pinned him to the ground. He was in control, could finally get a handle on his racing thoughts enough to focus on how cute the other boy looked when he laughed. And admittedly, that wasn’t much better, but it was a feeling he was accustomed to, and one he could get a far better handle on and rationalize as something a friend might feel.

Of course, the relief lasted only a few short moments. He was biting back his own laugh when Yamaguchi all but collapsed on top of him, his sudden weight forcing the breath from Kei’s lungs as he struggled to get his arms back underneath himself.

“S-sorry!” Yamaguchi squeaked right into his ear, elbows digging harshly into Kei’s shoulders before sliding off to hit the floor. Yamaguchi hissed, face twisting up, and Kei wanted to be concerned but everything was happening too fast for him to be considerate.

Yamaguchi’s cheek brushed his as he finally was able to lift his torso up, breath coming in short gasps. Kei was beginning to think he would never smell anything but popcorn again. His brain was turning to mush, he just knew it, because some horrific part of him didn’t even care—or rather, it cared a horrific amount—about how close Yamaguchi was.

And even if he was still agonizing over his last impulsive decision, it didn’t matter, because he followed it up with something far more mortifying. He craned his neck, closed the small gap between them, pressing a kiss to Yamaguchi’s lips. It was hardly less chaotic than the way they fell, Kei’s glasses biting into the bridge of his nose as he pushed their faces in too close. It was all he could manage to suppress a pained groan, to hold his mouth closed against Yamaguchi’s for one, two, three seconds before he pulled back.

Yamaguchi’s eyes were closed when Kei opened his, closed even after he breathed his way through a calming exercise that was failing spectacularly in calming him down.

“Yama—” he started, and Yamaguchi’s eyes flew open, blush shifting from pink to red in an instant.

“Wha— Tsukki, you just— my— and I’m still—!” And Kei couldn’t for the life of him process what Yamaguchi was getting at because his mind was just screaming _kiss! kiss! kiss!_ over and over and his heartbeat was pounding in his ears, trying to outdo his mental screeching.

“Yamaguchi!” Kei snapped, and Yamaguchi withered, which wasn’t what he wanted at all but he needed a moment to think, to rectify this, to say it was an accident or a joke, or some other lame excuse because letting Yamaguchi know he liked him sounded like a worst-case scenario situation.

“Yamaguchi, I just— this isn’t, or that wasn’t— I mean—” If those words meant anything, Kei didn’t know what. He was starting to sound like Yamaguchi, and Kei never stuttered or hesitated or did embarrassing things like kiss his best friend for no reason.

And Yamaguchi was back to staring, intense and focused, eyebrows knitted like he was on the verge of figuring something out and Kei absolutely couldn’t have that, he couldn’t.

“Please, Yamaguchi—” he started, before Yamaguchi—who had developed a spine in the span of a few seconds while Kei’s had all but vanished—leaned down to kiss him again. It was far gentler, Yamaguchi’s head tilted slightly so as not to push into Kei’s glasses again and lips much softer and smooth against his.

He reflexively tightened his grip on Yamaguchi’s sides and Yamaguchi’s mouth opened. It was probably to laugh, but Kei was operating on spinal reflex instead of logical conclusions now, so he opened his mouth too, tentatively slotting their lips together. Yamaguchi took it in stride like he had planned it that way, tongue sweeping across Kei’s bottom lip.

Kei couldn’t choke back the noise of surprise that spilled from his mouth and he swore he could feel Yamaguchi smile against him. Yamaguchi’s hands, which had been doing nothing at all, settled on Kei; one smoothing up to cup his cheek and the other sliding into his hair.

Somewhere in the haze of Yamaguchi’s lips and tongue and warmth and fingers loosely threading through Kei’s hair, his glasses had been plucked from his face. The kiss deepened, Yamaguchi eager and Kei struggling to keep up. He let his hands slide down Yamaguchi’s sides, fingertips ghosting over the skin on his back where his shirt wasn’t quite reaching the top of his pants. Yamaguchi sighed into the kiss, fingers flexing in Kei’s hair tight enough to make him whine.

Yamaguchi broke the kiss then, staring down at Kei with cheeks several shades darker than they had been before. Kei squinted, unused the blurriness and trying to compensate so he could gauge Yamaguchi’s reaction for any flash of anger or disgust. Yamaguchi simply stared for what felt like an eternity before pressing a gentle kiss to the space between Kei’s eyebrows.

“You’ll get wrinkles,” Yamaguchi whispered. Kei was blind, yes, but not blind enough to miss the huge smirk on Yamaguchi’s face as he pulled back.

“I can’t see,” he replied simply. Yamaguchi was still playing with his hair, fingernails occasionally scraping his scalp in a way that made his toes curl, and he closed his eyes.

“Can’t or won’t?” Yamaguchi teased, pressing another kiss to the tip of Kei’s nose. Kei couldn’t fight the smile that crept across his features, warmth settling in the spaces between his bones.

“Shut up,” he said, no force behind the words as he craned his neck up, connecting their lips again. Yamaguchi giggled, unable to fully commit to the kiss.

“Yamaguchi,” he whined, loud and long-suffering, and Yamaguchi managed to curb his laughter, smile still stretching his lips wide.

“You’re so cute,” Yamaguchi said, tipping their foreheads together. “Leave it to you to skip right to kissing instead of talking about your feelings.”

“I can’t believe I like you,” Kei said, smirking as Yamaguchi pinched his cheek in retaliation.

“Yeah, me either,” Yamaguchi said, voice still soft and warm. Kei leaned up again, kissed Yamaguchi, chaste and smooth.

“Now get off of me; you’re so heavy,” he groaned, pushing at Yamaguchi half-heartedly. Yamaguchi giggled and sat up. Kei stayed on the floor, willing the cool wood underneath to soak into his skin and relieve him of the stupid blush coloring his skin.

“So we're... we're okay?” Kei asked, hearing the weird tremble in his voice. If he fell through the floor, he’d consider it mercy at this point.

“Yeah,” Yamaguchi said, then slightly more enthusiastically, “yes, that was really nice.” Kei’s heart swelled, his chest aching with the honesty and contentment of it all.

“Good,” he said, because he couldn’t very well tell Yamaguchi how much that simple affirmation meant without thoroughly ruining his already crumbling reputation. Not that he thought Yamaguchi ever bought into his apathy, especially after Kei had memorized something like fifty dinosaurs’ names, appearances, and behaviors last year so he could recite them like some kind of walking encyclopedia.

Minutes passed in silence, pleasant and companionable. Kei’s nerves were still singing with the feeling of Yamaguchi pressing down on him but it was beginning to wear off slowly, his faculties returning to him as he continued to ponder over the kisses.

“Yamaguchi?” He called, once his heartbeat had stopped battering his ribcage, and was thankful that his voice carried as it normally did. Yamaguchi hummed to let Kei know he was listening. Kei couldn’t see Yamaguchi, but he could picture him hugging his knees, chin resting in the dip between his kneecaps.

“Do you think it's okay if we do that again?” Yamaguchi was silent, and Kei worried he’d stepped over a line. Kei forced himself to count his breaths as he waited for Yamaguchi to reply.

“Yeah,” Yamaguchi said, “but maybe later.” Kei nodded, unsure if he could withstand much more of Yamaguchi’s close proximity without combusting.

“Cool,” Kei said, exhaling sharply to try and dispel the last of his worries.

“Cool,” Yamaguchi said. Silence settled over them again, even after Kei finally sat up to look at Yamaguchi, and even after Kei stole Yamaguchi’s bowl of ice cream again.

“Thank you,” Yamaguchi said after Kei had mostly finished the bowl.

“What, couldn’t finish your ice cream after all?” Kei scoffed.

“Tsukki! I’m trying to be nice! Jeez, you’re such a child.” Yamaguchi swatted his arm, smiling wide.

“So mature, hitting your crush like that,” Kei said, winking despite how his heart raced.

“More mature than a thief!” Yamaguchi said, swatting Kei’s arm again for good measure. They dissolved into a fit of giggles then, and even though Kei’s sides ached, he felt comfortable, like a weight had finally lifted his shoulders.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from "Bloom" by The Paper Kites
> 
> Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated <3


End file.
